Patheos Featured Writers

Max Lindenman
Columnist

Max Lindenman, a Phoenix-based freelance writer, is a connossieur of dark and strange places.  After a stint teaching ESOL in Mainland China, and another studying in Moscow during the decadent Yeltsin years, he found his way into the subprime mortgage industry.  Following a conversion experience, he resolved to enter the Catholic Church, and was received over Easter of 2008. Follow Max on facebook.

Works by Max Lindenman
An Open Letter to the Editor Who Fired Mark Shea
Max Lindenman | August 22, 2016
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Lessons from Erdoğan's Victory
Max Lindenman | July 18, 2016
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Mamma Mia! Emergency Baptism at 30,000 Feet
Max Lindenman | May 27, 2016
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Bursa Suicide Bombing and the Return of History
Max Lindenman | April 29, 2016
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Amoris Laetitia and the Family Road Trip
Max Lindenman | April 24, 2016
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A Little Blood Never Hurt Anyone
Max Lindenman | April 21, 2016
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Je Suis -- I mean, Ich bin ein Jan Böhmermann
Max Lindenman | April 19, 2016
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Keeping My Brother -- Exp. Not Nec. but a +
Max Lindenman | April 14, 2016
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Flashman and the Wardrobe
Max Lindenman | March 31, 2016
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The Gladsome Easter Morn
Max Lindenman | March 28, 2016
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Was I There When They Crucified My Lord? Well...
Max Lindenman | March 25, 2016
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St. Joseph: Patron of Crawlers and Scramblers
Max Lindenman | March 20, 2016
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Lent for the Reluctant Ascetic
Max Lindenman | January 26, 2016
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How to Lose A Marathon
Max Lindenman | January 20, 2016
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In Defense of "Sob-Signaling"
Max Lindenman | January 11, 2016
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Farewell to Miss Florence King (1936-2016)
Max Lindenman | January 07, 2016
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Is It Time for A Moral Panic over Pornography?
Max Lindenman | January 06, 2016
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Modesty for Men
Max Lindenman | January 02, 2016
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In Defense of Serena Williams
Max Lindenman | December 19, 2015
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Why Grow Up When You Can Be Christian?
Max Lindenman | December 18, 2015
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An Evening with Our Lady of Guadalupe
Max Lindenman | December 12, 2015
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Remembrance of Sins Past: Book 341
Max Lindenman | December 11, 2015
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A Maverick Marian Moment
Max Lindenman | December 10, 2015
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Islam, Reality, and Renewal
Max Lindenman | December 08, 2015
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Tales from A Runner, Shy of Virtue
Max Lindenman | November 30, 2015
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Story of A Thanksgiving Mugging
Max Lindenman | November 26, 2015
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Refugees and Bart Simpson's Paradox
Max Lindenman | November 23, 2015
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ISIS Should Get Its Own Patheos Channel
Max Lindenman | November 21, 2015
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A Humble Plug for Refugees
Max Lindenman | November 17, 2015
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Jean Ousset: The Wit and Wisdom of A Wingnut
Max Lindenman | November 16, 2015
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Contra Mindy Selmys: Anger Isn't Always Hatred
Max Lindenman | November 15, 2015
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In Paris: Christ Crucified or Avenging Angels?
Max Lindenman | November 14, 2015
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Starbucks and the Red Cup of Conquest
Max Lindenman | November 12, 2015
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Nicholas Christakis: Too Much Obsequiousness Is A...
Max Lindenman | November 11, 2015
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Mercy for "Shrieking Girl"
Max Lindenman | November 10, 2015
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On All Souls' Day: A Plenary Indulgence for Dad
Max Lindenman | November 05, 2015
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The Race and "Mean God Syndrome"
Max Lindenman | November 02, 2015
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The Tragic Case of the Catholic Theologians and the...
Max Lindenman | November 02, 2015
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Video: Death Comes with Ice Cream
Max Lindenman | October 27, 2015
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Video: Missing Marietta
Max Lindenman | October 25, 2015
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Video: The Nymph of the Swimming Pool
Max Lindenman | October 19, 2015
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Two Vital Announcements from Your Wimpy Catholic
Max Lindenman | October 14, 2015
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On Browsing Death
Max Lindenman | October 16, 2014
For the living, easy access to the precincts of the dead is a priceless resource. What......
Farewell to Hitchens, Mighty Goat Among Sheep
Max Lindenman | December 20, 2011
Whatever Hitchens himself might have had to say on the subject, he possessed all the raw......
Can Complainers Gather Between Heaven and Mirth?
Max Lindenman | December 06, 2011
Joy and laughter serve truth well, but can a little complaining, with a topspin of......
Becoming Culturally Catholic
Max Lindenman | October 24, 2011
Embracing Catholicism eventually means confronting the slings and arrows of Catholic......
When Writers Attack!
Max Lindenman | October 16, 2011
Dueling days are past, but let's imagine how some of today's busiest and best-read......
Ignatius Reilly: Catholic of Tomorrow, Today
Max Lindenman | October 09, 2011
John Kennedy Toole's 1980 Pulitzer Prize Winner anticipated 21st-century Catholicism in......
Scaring Hell Out of Kids
Max Lindenman | September 25, 2011
It's okay to teach hell to kids. The evidence shows they can take it....
Why I Dress Down for Mass
Max Lindenman | September 18, 2011
The more at home I feel in my Father's house, the more likely I am to stick around....
Learning to Love the Post-9/11 World
Max Lindenman | September 11, 2011
Ten years spent waiting for the other shoe to drop has made some of us experts in......
The Care and Feeding of the Adult Convert
Max Lindenman | September 04, 2011
God is not finished with any of us....
RCIA Sponsorship: The Littlest Way
Max Lindenman | August 21, 2011
Sacrifices and rewards of spending a few hours each week with an RCIA candidate are......
Fr. Bourgeois and the Romance of Rebellion
Max Lindenman | August 14, 2011
The maverick's image gratifies America's culture of individualism. But the Catholic......
Catholics in America's Bible Belt are learning the lingo of fundamentalism. Will it......
Kaddish for Amy
Max Lindenman | July 31, 2011
The untimely death of a talented person is never a happy occasion, but over time, at......
If Chaput's strategy shows vision, his mastery of the details hints at an admirable......
Gay Marriage and Framing the Church's Message
Max Lindenman | June 27, 2011
As gay marriage becomes legal in New York State, the Catholic Church may have to find......
Corapi and the Call to Denial
Max Lindenman | June 20, 2011
Where sacraments end, showmanship begins. Now, we have priests morphing into growling......
St. Francis, My Father, and Me
Max Lindenman | June 12, 2011
Perhaps urged on by Francis, a son reaches through the ether of memory -- beyond the......
Bishop Finn’s response to warnings about a “creepy” priest earns a D. Though we now have......
To Catholic Singles: Stay Selfish
Max Lindenman | May 29, 2011
For Catholics, elasticity is one of the great perks of permanent singlehood. In distinct......
The Naked Blogger
Max Lindenman | May 22, 2011
About to launch a blog of his own, a writer and former blog-combox terror ponders issues......
The Blessing of Gossip
Max Lindenman | May 15, 2011
There's something about knowing an awful story about the person beside you, and......
The Confessor Who Laughs
Max Lindenman | May 08, 2011
When examining your conscience prior to confession, try to work in a punch line....
How the ingrained values of a former Catholic mother influenced her son church-ward. An......
In this conflict-wracked world, sometimes a semblance of peace, a fragile consensus, is......
The Men in the Gray Flannel Soutanes
Max Lindenman | April 24, 2011
The Church's clerical leadership has surrendered a large share of its credibility, and......
A Good Stretch of the Legs
Max Lindenman | April 17, 2011
Why become a Catholic? Why remain a Catholic? For some it's the bells and smells, for......
Olmsted and I: Bishops and Bogeymen
Max Lindenman | April 10, 2011
A chance encounter with a bishop demolishes a media-construct and leaves the writer......
Mummies, Miracles and Dry, Dry Bones
Max Lindenman | April 08, 2011
The "incorruptible bodies" of some Catholic saints have had a little help from a world......
Catholics Need Their Own "Book of Mormon"
Max Lindenman | April 03, 2011
Catholics now form a cultural minority. Turning to victim-identity politics and adopting......
Fr. Corapi: Death of Irony, Limits of Tragedy
Max Lindenman | March 27, 2011
A childlike understanding of Cosmic Irony becomes reconciled to the reality of a God who......
Nine Types of Catholic Commenters
Max Lindenman | March 24, 2011
Catholicism is often a squabbling family and the life of faith doesn't cure human......
I Got My Religion Online
Max Lindenman | March 22, 2011
John Paul II told us to cast out into the deep. Pope Benedict wisely promotes doing so......
Subprime Speaks to the Priesthood
Max Lindenman | March 14, 2011
The subprime catastrophe may sound a cautionary note to the Catholic priesthood: once......
Though unevenly matched in either wit or craft, Flannery O'Connor and Jack Chick shared......
On Dating Nice Catholic Girls
Max Lindenman | February 28, 2011
No hook-ups but no long-term ego-busts; nice Catholic girls teach tenderness and the......
Braving Rabbinic Waters to Reveal Body and Blood
Max Lindenman | February 25, 2011
A study of ancient rabbinic writing marries ancient Presences to new, and exposes the......
Braving Rabbinic Waters to Reveal Body and Blood
Max Lindenman | February 24, 2011
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Kvetching in Antiphon
Max Lindenman | February 21, 2011
Directing a Semitic fist of rage in every available direction provides a curious......
Houses and the Holy
Max Lindenman | February 14, 2011
Pondering the reckless genuine piety of nuns, the mysteries of discernment, juicy......